Equifax to Pay $380.5 Million to Settle Data Breach Class Claims

Hundreds of class actions against Equifax were consolidated and transferred to the MDL

Equifax Inc. will pay $380.5 million to resolve allegations stemming from a 2017 data breach under an agreement approved by the Northern District of Georgia.

The settlement class consists of approximately 147 million U.S. consumers identified by Equifax whose personal information was compromised as a result of the cyberattack and data breach the company announced Sept. 7, 2017.

The company will deposit the money into a fund from which class members will be able to claim up to $20,000 for out-of-pocket losses, under the order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Monday. If needed, it must add $125 million more for out-of-pocket claims.

Class members will also receive 10 years of credit monitoring or cash compensation if they already have monitoring, and other benefits.

The settlement also requires the company to pay at least $1 billion for improved data security and as much as $2 billion more depending on the number of credit monitoring claims.

Class counsel will receive a percentage-based fee of $77.5 million, reimbursement of $1,404,855.35 in litigation expenses, and service awards of $2,500 for each settlement class representative totaling no more than $250,000 in the aggregate.